Lettering guide



Nov. 4, 947.

F. P. KUHL LETTERING GUIDE Filed Sept.

Patented Nov. 4, 1947 .TEN OFFICE Ln'rrnmno apron of. New `liersey Application September 15, 1943,` Serial No. 502,709'

(Cl. 33-174B) 2Y Claims. l

'I'his invention relates to lettering guides for use in inscribing lettering, numbering or other symbols for descriptions, directions, titles, etc., on drawings, details, maps and other similar delineations.

One object of this invention is to provide a lettering guide of simple construction to enable draftsmen to inscribe neat uniform lettering on drawings without guide lines which necessarily require'later removal.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lettering guide which can be used for letterM ing in either pencil or ink, constructed so that a maximum of guidance isobtained without danger of smudging or blotting.

A further object of the invention is toprovide a lettering guide which can be adjusted for let-v ters of various height by means of a simple manipulation.

A still further object of the invention is to provide lettering guides which can be incorporated in other tools of the draftsman, such as triangles, curves, straight-edges, 'lf-squares, drafting machine scales, etc.

Another object of the invention is to provide lettering guides which can be used in conjunctionwithiT-squares and triangles or drafting man chines and so provide a guide for lettering at an?,7 angle on the drawing.

With these and other objects in Viewthe invention consists of the arrangement and combination of parts as hereinafter described with ref.u erence to the accompanying drawings in which.:

Figure 1 is a View in plan with portions out away of a drafting triangle embodying one form of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a View in plan of the undei` side the drafting triangle shown in Figure l.

Figure 3 is a view in section along the line 3 3 of Figure l looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a view in section along the line li--l of Figure 2 looking in the direction of the arn rows.

Figure 5 is a view in plan of an embodiment of the invention wherein the lettering guide is adjustable.

Figure 6 is a View in. elevation of Figure 5 from the left of that gure.

The invention is illustrated in Figure 1 as applied to the conventional PAP-60 triangle normally used by draftsmen. The embodiment of the in.- vention in this type of triangle is for the pui pose of illustration only as the invention could be embodied in any other type of triangle, curve,

2 straightedge or other drafting instrument or itA could be embodied in rectangular or square members made solely for the purpose of being used as lettering guides.

As shown in Figures l, 2, 3 and 4, one or more tapered grooves 5 of desired width are provided in the triangle I0 which is conveniently made of a transparent plastic material such as Celluloid or cellulose acetate. The tapered grooves 5 are cut to a depth of approximately one-half of the thickness of the triangle l@ and are formed with inclined faces It and I 5. The bottom I2 of the tapered grooves 5 should correspond to theheight of'` the letters or numerals to be drawn. The intersection of the inclined faces Ill and I5 and they upper face i9 of the triangle It for-ms the edges iand il. Slots iI of' a width corresponding to the width of the bottom l2 of the taperedl grooves 5 are cut through the remainder of' the triangle I. s

The triangle iii in the position shown in Figure l is in the preferred position for using the guide for forming pencil letters 5I. The vertical walls I-S (Figure 3) of the elongated slot I l extend; to the face 2li of the triangle It which is in intimate contact with the drawing surface E@ and provide an unvarying stop for the point 2l of the pencil 2@ thus enabling the draftsman to draw letters 5l of uniform height with the top and bottom edges in straight parallel lines.

By varying the depth of the tapered groove li cut in the triangle I-IB or the angle of the inclined Y faces I4 and I5 or both, the horizontal distance from the` vertical walls I3 of the slot II to the edges I6 and Il can be made as desired. As the material of which the triangle lli is made is transparent, these-edges I6 or il can be made to coincide with the edge ofan adjacent line of lettering or other line from which it is to be spaced and the new line of lettering will be spaced therefrom with a predetermined uniform spacing.

By turning over the triangle It to the position shown in Figure 2, the lettering guide is in the preferred position for making ink letters 52- by means of lettering pens such as the draftsmans lettering pen 22 shown in position in Figure 4. The-vertical Walls I3 of the slot i I provide the guiding means for the writing element 23 of the draftsmans letter-ing pen 22. The groove portion 5 of the lettering'guide particularly between edges i@ and I'I- and the inclined faces M and I5 prevents corltact between the triangle I0 and the ink in the pen 22 or newly formed letters and thus prevents" blotting by capillary action drawing the ink between the under iace I9 of the triangle Il'Ior lettering guide and the drawing surface 24. An advantage of continuing the groove k to the ends of the lettering guide is that it permits movement of the lettering guide alo-ng the edge of a T-square or other straight-edge as the lettering progresses without having any part of the lettering guide come in contact with any of the newly formed letters in the line before they have dried.

It can be readily seen that a lettering guide in the form of a draftsmans triangle or in the form of a square or rectangular lettering guide can be used in conjunction with T-squares, triangles and the scales of drafting machines so that lettering can be placed on a drawing in any desired position and at any angle. The edges |E and |l' can act as a spacing means in the same manner as previously described. A series of grooves each of a different width permits one instrument to be used for several different heights of letters. For narrower grooves, i. e. smaller letters, the distance from edge I5 and Il to walls i3 may be correspondingly smaller, if it is so desired.

Figure 5 shows the present invention embodied in the form of an adjustable lettering guide. Guide members 33 and 3| may be made of either opaque or transparent plastic material such as Celluloid or cellulose acetate. The guide members 30 and 3l are joined by arms 32 and 33 to form a parallelograrn of the type usually used in draftsmens parallel rules, Threaded pin 38 is inserted through a preformed hole preferably in the center near the end of guide member 3B. The threaded portion i9 of pin 38 is journalled in a hole in arm 32 and is tted with threaded knurled nut 3l. rEhe other end of arm 32 is provided with a fixed pin 4G which snugly fits holes 4| in guide member 3l. At the other end of guide member 30, arm 33 is rotatably mounted at the center near the end of guide member 3U by any convenient means and is similarly provided with a xed pin :lll which snugly its holes il in guide member 3|. One end of arm 32 is conveniently formed in the shape of a pointer 34 which reads on Pencil scale 35 indicating the distance between vertical guide wall i2 of guide member 3U and vertical guide wall |42 of guide member 3|. When guide members 33 and 3| are in the position shown in full lines in Figure 5, the adjustable lettering guide is in the preferred position for drawing pencil letters |5|. This provides an arrangement resembling that shown in Figure 3. The edges of guide members 30 and 3| are formed as shown in Figure 6 with vertical walls 42 and |42 and a cut away or beveled portion to form the inclined faces 43 and |53. The intersections of the inclined faces 43 and |43 with the upper faces 54 and |54 of the guide members 30 and 3| respectively form the edges @d and IM which may be used for spacing. As previously explained, these vertical walls 42 form a stop for the point of the users pencil so that letters |5| are formed which are of uniform height in even lines with the top and bottom edges parallel.

By releasing the knurled nut 3l, the guide member 3| can be moved so that the space between the vertical walls l2 and |42 of guide members 3B and 3l is increased or decreased to the desired extent. When the guide members 3D and 3| are in the desired relative position, the knurled nut 3l is turned on pin 38 so that arm 32 is clamped to guide member 310. The head 39 of threaded pin 38 is preferably made in a square form or otherwise keyed so that pin 38 cannot rotate when knurled nut 3l is turned relative to the pin 38, ln all relative positions of guide members Sil and 3| from fully closed to maximum open position, the pointer 3E. at the end of arm 32 gives an indication on Pencil scale 35 of the space between the vertical walls i2 and |42 of guide members 3E! and 3| and, therefore, the relative height of the resulting letters |5l. lf desired, an elongated slot 5B of construction similar to that described for the elongated siots in the 30a-60 triangle shown in Figures l and 2 can be formed in guide member 3D to provide a guide for pencil letters of the height most commonly used by the draftsman.

By loosening knurled nut 3l and removing pins lil in arms 32 and 33 from holes ll in guide member 3|, and swinging arms 32 and 33 across the lower edge of guide member 33, the guide member 3| can be moved to a position on the opposite side of guide member 33 and can be easily reassembled in the position shown by the dotted lines in Figure 5. In this position, the vertical wall l5 of guide member 38 is brought opposite the vertical wall |45 `of guide member 3| and pointer 36 of arm 32 will read on Ink scale 33. The edge of guide member Sil at vertical wall d5 and the edge of guide member 3| at vertical wall H5 are preferably constructed as shown in Figure 5 with the under face 56 of guide member 3B and the under face |55 of guide member 3| formed with reentrant cut away portions 46 and MS. This construction removes the vertical guide walls d5 and |35 from intimate contact with the drawing surface and prevents possible blotting by capillary attraction drawing the ink between the lower faces 56 and |55:` of guide members 3|) and 3| respectively and the drawing surface. This construction also permits moving the lettering guide along a T-s'duare or straightedge as the lettering progresses without blurring the newly formed letters in the line before they have dried. The edges 'll and lill of the cut away portion 136 and |515 may be used for spacing guides as previously described.

The construction shown in Figure 5 represents only one of many possible embodiments of the invention in an adjustable lettering guide. Many variations from this construction are possible. For instance, it is possible rotatably to mount arms 32 and 33 at the center and near the ends of guide member 3| and provide threaded pins and knurled nuts similar to 3l and 38 at both ends of guide member Si) and to provide holes in the ends of arms 32 and 33 which are journalled on said pins 33. With this construction, to change from the arrangement for pencil lettering to ink lettering, both knurled nuts would be removed and the arms 32 and 33 removed from the threaded pins 35. The guide member 3| would then be moved to a position on the opposite side of guide member 3] and the holes in arms 32 and 33 placed over the threaded pins 38 and the knurled nuts 3l rethreaded on the threaded pins 38 and both knurled nuts 3l tightened when the guide members 3|) and 3| are in the desired position. It can be seen that the advantages of the present invention apply equally to this construction as to the construction previously described.

The foregoing description of preferred embodiments of my invention is intended t0 be illustrative of the invention since many modications and other forms within the scope of the appended claims will occur to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A lettering guide comprising a parallel sur- Y faced member having two opposed vertical walls each meeting one surface of said member at substantially a right angle to form a slot and two other Walls meeting the other surface of said member to form a groove, the width of the groove being greater than the width of the slot and the length of the groove being equal to the dimension of the parallel surfaced member in the direction of the length of the groove whereby a continuous groove is provided so that the guide may be moved parallel to the groove without engaging a sheet beneath it where letters may have been drawn through the slot.

2. A lettering guide comprising a parallel surfaced member having two opposed vertical Walls each meeting one surface of said member at substantially a right angle to form a slot and two other walls meeting the other surface of said member to form a groove, the width of the groove being greater than the Width of the slot, said groove in the direction of the length of the groove extending longitudinally to the edge of the said member whereby a continuous groove is provided so that the guide may be moved parallel to the groove without engaging a sheet beneath it Where letters may have been drawn through the slot.

FRANK P. KUHL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent: 

